NASCAR driver drops charges in beating

Charges have been dismissed against three men accused of beating NASCAR driver Michael Wallace and his daughter, Lindsey, after a Rascal Flatts concert at PNC Amphitheater in June.

The charges were dismissed at the request of Wallace and his daughter, according to dismissal forms filed by a prosecutor on Friday in Mecklenburg (N.C.) County District Court.

“The prosecutor has received communication from the victims that they do not wish to continue with the prosecution of the defendants,” the forms say. “The opinions of a victim about the disposition of (a) criminal case do not warrant dismissal in every situation. However, the State often confers with victims of the crime, as these individuals are the ones that must testify in a public courtroom and relive the incident each time they take the stand.

“In this case, the State is filing this dismissal based on the wishes of the victims that the prosecution not continue.”

Nathan and Paul Lucas and Randolph Mangum were charged with assault inflicting serious injury and assault and battery. Paul Lucas also was charged with assault on a female. The Lucases are sons of the owner of PNC Amphitheater’s former landscaping company, Lucas Landscaping. The venue fired the company after the incident.

In October, a Mecklenburg County judge declared a mistrial in the case after learning that two potential witnesses in the trial violated the judge’s order and remained in the courtroom to hear testimony.

Attorneys for the three pleaded not guilty before the start of the trial. In cross-examinations, the defense attorneys began laying the groundwork that Wallace was injured in a fight that began as a parking lot argument before the concert. Wallace, they said, was a principal player in both the disagreement and the fight.

They also implied in their questioning of witnesses that additional criminal charges were filed against their clients by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police because of Wallace’s celebrity.

For his part, the NASCAR driver said he, friends and family members rode in two cars to the concert and were directed into their VIP parking spot by one of the defendants.

After the concert, Wallace said he saw the same man struggling to find his way out of the amphitheater. Back in the parking lot, he noticed the man emerging from the crowd gathered where the Wallace group had parked their cars.

“Looks like your boy made it back,” Wallace said he told members of the large group. “One of the gentleman standing there said, ‘That’s his mom.’ I said, ‘Hi mom, how you doing?’ ”

Wallace said he then noticed a younger man in a gray sleeveless T-shirt standing in the bed of a pickup — later identified as Nathan Lucas — flailing his arms and spewing profanity and screaming for someone, maybe Wallace, “to get out of here.”

“If 10 is at loud volume, he was a 20,” Wallace told the judge. “I looked up and said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ ”

That was the last thing Wallace said he remembered — other than being struck in the face.

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